Sonu Nigam answers censure with tonsure

After a Kolkata maulvi declared he would pay Rs10 lakh to the man who shaves Sonu Nigam’s head, the singer himself got a “Muslim brother” to do it.
Sonu Nigam lost his hair, but had the last laugh - yesterday, at least. In the brouhaha over his azaan tweet, Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi, vice president, West Bengal Minority United Council, had issued a fatwa offering Rs10 lakh to anyone who would shave the singer’s head. But on Wednesday, the singer himself got his head shaved at his Mumbai residence. Addressing the media before the ‘mundan’, Sonu said, “This is not an agitation. This is not a challenge. This is a message that the man cutting the hair is a Muslim and we are doing this willingly. I am willingly asking my Muslim brother ki kaat bhai. Instead of issuing a fatwa, if we send a message across pyaar se, I think it would be better.”
The singer added that people opposing his view have the right to do so, but only in a civilised manner. He said, “Everyone has the right to voice their opinion. If you don’t agree with me, you can say that to me. The difference is that some people resort to insults and threat. All this can be done in a civilised manner too.” Adding that being a celebrity, it is even more difficult to voice one’s opinion, he said, “People feel that they have a right to their opinions, but celebs don’t. It’s as simple as that.”
Sonu said that his problem was not with “azaan or aarti” but with the use of loudpseakers. “I’m not saying that the azaan’s timing is wrong. Just that the loudspeaker’s timing is wrong. Be it azaan or aarti, there should be no loudspeaker. If I use a loudspeaker to sing at midnight, then you have the right to object too,” he said. He added that his concerts also use speakers, but they end at the prescribed time. “Our shows end at 10pm, as per the rules. We aren’t allowed to perform even one minute more. The issue is the use of loudspeakers at the wrong time,” he concluded.